The Irony of Improving Educational Quality

As if it is not enough to watch the recently jumble tangle of the national exam covered by various media outlets, a friend of mine who teaches junior high school poured in her wrath on her Facebook wall. She lamented over the poor quality of the answering sheets. Her students suffered from increasing tension and stress to not damaging their sheets during the exam. The substandard sheets were easily torn when they tried to rectify their answers by erasing the false answers.


“It’s outrageously maddening! Not only the government fails to ensure the distribution of exam materials within a timely order, it also recklessly appointed printing company that provided poor quality answering sheet. It’s a total mess!” Her anger came pouring in.

Another drama followed when I watched the news in one of the national TV covering the national exam fiasco and the allegedly leaked key answers among students in Bandar Lampung. Asked during a live interview on whether he felt ashamed and guilty for cheating during the exam, the anonymous high school student candidly replied, “I don’t feel ashamed or guilty because the others do the same.”

I was totally taken aback. My jaw dropped! A bloody vulgar picture that perfectly illustrates the ends justifies the means at whatever cost including dignity and integrity!

Despite the noble cause of the national exam, we constantly see many frauds in its application; leaking documents, answer and question sheets as well as cheating by using the service of joki or someone who offers service to do the exam. All these irregularities found during the exam have been the main focus of the profoundly negative effect of the national exam over our educational system.

The so-called policy of national exam that the Ministry of Education and Culture had defended to have helped them mapping the quality of the education has apparently failed to deliver its noble goal. Cheating always mars the annual event. Instead of improving the educational quality, the policy has forced teachers and students alike to foster the culture of ‘cheating’. It is an irony how teachers who should be the one who encourage their students to learn and study are doing the opposite by spreading the leaked answers in the name of helping students to graduate.

Bad education policies damage children. The national exam costs highly every year, but does not measure the actual quality of national education. The standardized testing is currently the nation's dominant educational theme, the primary focus of schooling i.e how much preparation needed, how much anxiety produced, the costs, the scores, the delay, the cheating – and so forth.

Students' intelligence is measured by grades, which only partially touch the key purpose of the teaching-learning process. Passing the exam with satisfying result becomes the ultimate goal. To fail increasingly grows into the worst nightmare both for teachers and students. The national exam becomes a terrible monster that they try hard to eliminate on whatever cost. If all the students graduate, the success would boost the school reputation.

Thus, both parties sometimes work hand in hand to outsmart the the test illegally, ignoring the sanctions imposed on such acts. Key answers leak days before the day of the exam. Teachers are caught red-handed to help distributing the leak to their students. They unconsciously destroy the basic foundation of character building by surrendering to the increasing pressure of the test. They set bad example, a damaging role model. Integrity and dignity as part of character building lost in the process. The end weighs more than the process. They measure their success through numbers only. Quality is sacrificed in the expense of quality. The damage is irreversible.

It is obvious that things have gone pretty wrong. Teachers, parents, students, practitioners and allies from every corner of the nation have continuously voiced their concerns and outcries over the jumble tangle within our national education system; the half-baked curriculum, the national exam, the delay of the exam materials and so on.

And yet the Ministry of Education and Culture in particular, remains obsessed with the testing, ignoring the negative consequences and the pouring outcries. As a result, coursework in most schools has become dominated by test preparation and lost any semblance of intellectual rigor.

I personally do not say "no to testing." I say the government should have a better alternative - an assessment system that includes student performance, professional development, curriculum innovation, rubrics for assessment, and a documented success rate for college acceptance and perseverance to measure the quality of our education. Therefore, the government should consider another way of examination such as giving the right to the schools to conduct the examination and determine their graduation of their own students. Attention must refocus on the classroom: on texts, not testing manuals; on critical thinking skills, not testing drills; on complex writing assignments, not formulaic essay tests; on advanced math skills and scientific problem solving, not rote memorization; on probing discussion and debate, not platitudes and clichés.

Therefore, policymakers need to promote alternatives that work. They need to visit more schools; listen to those who work closest with children about their experiences; study the abundant research that has been published on good teaching practices; and ensure that policies permit flexibility to meet the diverse needs of children and school communities.

In Between Optimism and Pesimism

“An optimist is a person who sees a green light everywhere, while a pessimist sees only the red stoplight. . . The truly wise person is colorblind.” (Albert Schweitzer)


Depending on how we view our life, our workplace can be either a series of dark rooms, with unbearable pressures from demanding bosses and sad music blasting from computers or bright shiny rooms with sweet fragrance and challenging environment to work in. It’s like describing an image of a glass of liquid as half empty or half full. An optimist in office will always see the glass as half-full, expecting things to go well and dwell on the most hopeful aspects of a situation. A pessimist, on the other hand, tends to see the glass as half-empty, expecting things to go bad and focus on the negative sides of most things.

While most people tend to take side on the optimists, I prefer to fall in between. I prefer to see both sides of the coin. I am neither foolishly optimistic nor depressingly pessimistic in office as life always throws us curveballs that makes it hard to predict on what comes next. The only surest thing about life that we all agree upon that it is unpredictable.

So with the life in office. I can be optimistic; raking my brain out to cope with this unpredictability and scheme plans to make them work. Nevertheless, sometimes I fear to experience pitfalls when my plans turn out to be total failure. For that very reason, I sometimes dwell on the downside of any plans I make to devise a protective buffer in case things might go wrong.

Assessing the fact as it is and being prepared to take it head on is my take! I don’t like to pretend that everything’s going to work out because most of the time, it doesn’t. I dont't like to pretend to cheer up all the time despite the disspointment just because people tell me so! Things may have gotten worse, but then you learn to understand how to interpret them positively.

As an example, I look at things honestly using my years of experience no matter how bitter that may sound. I am always optimist that I could perform well in any field of work I am assigned to. It is my responsibility to carve my work with excellence. Nonetheless, I don’t ignore the possible pitfalls, the darker reality of my working environment. If I go through this reality with blind optimism, I would be so disappointed that eventually the heartbreaking environment might crush me.

It is a sad depressing fact. I see it as it is. I don't like to pretend seeing beautiful rainbows over the skies while islands of clouds gather to form downpours and tornado! No matter how good or satisfying you do your work; you are constantly denied to move forward or to even obtain salary and benefits that should be your rights to claim solely because the system says so. It's the unlucky circumstances that lead to the unfairness. It is a fact. Therefore, I am prepared to anticipate the worse without losing my ethics in performing my job.

So, to avoid falling into prey to depressing pessimist, I don’t try to deny this fact. It is OK to feel disappointed and hail a torrent of protests and complaints or just stared in disbelief. Yet, in the end of the day, the show must go on!

Now, I have a response in case I am accosted by unbearable optimists at office.

“I’m not smiling because I don’t feel like walking around looking like an idiot! I don't feel like telling people around that the system is great because the Management thinks so! And I refuse to pretend that everything’s going to be OK just to please everybody.”


I know that things will get harder and I must work harder due to the unfortunate situation. Yet, in spite of this, I do the work and attain the targeted result for my office. I have learned that things sometimes do not go according to how you expect them to go. It is the art of keeping a balance between being optimism and pessimism with reality. Whatever hardships you might encounter have simply made you a smarter and wiser person. They have taught you that not everything goes as you wish or plan. You have learned not to run at things blindly hoping you will be lucky. Most importantly you have learned lessons that hopefully would make you a better person.

A Hidden Jewel Across Jakarta Bay

I am neither a good swimmer nor fans of the mighty seas. The vast and endless waters always send a chill down my spine. It feels like they suck me in infinity and beyond. I’d rather plant my feet in solid ground.


Yet, stories of the breathtakingly coral, colored fish and underwater critters had lured my resolve to get in waters of Tidung Island with fins and goggles last long weekend. What's more, the dizzying pace of Jakarta life along with its notorious traffic jams, pollution, and blaring horns steeled my determination to find a gateway for such chaos. I desperately needed a remote place to calm the mind, and the island seemed offering beguiling attraction.

Tidung is famous with its natural beauty, the friendliness of its people and the uniqueness of its tourism. It is called the "New Paradise" and is the largest island in the group of the Thousand Islands (Kepulauan Seribu). It is just a few miles away north of Jakarta by a three hour ride on traditional fisherman’s boat or an hour on speedboat.

As I relied on restraint budget, I took the family package tour of Rp. 350,000/ person. The price covered the cost for home stay, meals, one banana boat ride, rental bike and snorkeling. We departed by traditional boat that was similar with refugee vessel from Muara Angke port where I should sit on the floorboard in the sweltering heat, cramped along with other passengers. It was overcrowded with more than 100 passengers overboard.

The waves toyed the boat around, sending a rippling churning to my stomach. Sometimes, the Captain would shout aloud that the boat tipped to the right, sending passengers panicking and moving to the left to keep its balance. It was an adrenaline voyage indeed!

Keep in mind that there are no resorts, hotels, or fancy restaurants on this island and the experience is probably best reserved for a day trip. It’s for the adventurous people. However, Tidung Island natives have their homes to rent. To move around the island, visitors should ride their rental bike or hail becak motor (trishaw or pedicab). It’s totally back to nature holiday!

After three hours wild ride, I arrived in the Island. The dock was overcrowded with people rushing in and out of the small island. Pushing and shoving made the queue turned into a total havoc. Hundreds of visitors invaded the site, igniting hustle bustle in the remote island.

Putting our travel bags in our lodging, we came to meet our guide who immediately took us to the dock for snorkeling. The captain with its crews moved us on. We'd already lost some snorkeling time and he wanted to put us in the water, which was the primary plan. To our surprise, the water was like a transparent glass in which we could steal a glimpse underneath. We couldn't believe it could be so calm--more like a lake than an ocean.

He pulled in into pretty calm water. We saw 10 or so people had all snorkeled and jumped quickly into the water. I was still a little nervous. It was my first time to snorkel. Despite my worries, I really wanted to be in that clear water as the heat was unbearable. The captain patiently gave safety instruction, and set me up with equipment. Hesitantly, over the side I went, with a noodle for a safety blanket.

As I saw the majestic view through my goggles, everything else in the world stopped. Sooner than I expected, I ditched the noodle because it was a distraction. Colorful corals and fishes greeted my eyes. I was completely bewitched! Amazing underwater topography, so many different fish, beautiful brightly colored corals and underwater plant life so close it seemed you could reach out and touch them. I felt a bit like an Atlantis resident. Breathtaking!

Floating in the water, watching and listening to more than I could ever hope to take in, was amazing. It’s like having a relapse from the chaotic hectic world into a peaceful serene landscape. The snorkeling itself was absolutely beautiful and addicting. And it was only some miles away from Jakarta with small budget. Refreshing!

Rail New Schedule: More Sweats and Tears

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2013/04/08/imo-view-new-schedule-more-sweat-and-tears.html



Prior a delayed plan to scrap economy-class electric trains up to July, the state-owned rail operator, PT Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI), had announced to change the schedule of commuter line. The aim was to improve its service by increasing the frequency of commuter line services in Greater Jakarta from 514 to 575 trips per day commencing on 1st April 2013.

As one of the millions of road warriors entering Jakarta each day from the suburbs, I was delighted to hear the news. It would mean there’d be more trains available and extended operating hours of the commuter line plying Jakarta’s Kota to Bogor. In my wildest imagination, I pictured myself sitting cross-legged in a more convenient, less crowded and cozy train. Commuting daily in packed carriages with poor service and constant delay can be a living hell sometimes. So, the news is indeed a bliss of heaven!

I WAS WRONG! After three days experiencing the new schedule, I failed to see any improvement of the service I craved for. The train was still the same, still overcrowded, still delayed, and still poor. More sweats and tears spilled to just board on the iron snake! Passengers still experienced the inconvenience of disrupted schedule, causing a domino of delays and leaving thousands of commuters stranded for hours. Peak- hour rail chaos loomed as bat causes short-circuit or signal problem and commuters were forced to wait longer in frustration and anger. Unreliable schedules affected the trip of trains that caused massive pile up of passengers in each station.

Worse, the new schedule during peak hours was still unable to accommodate thousands of commuters swarming in the stations. More schedules instead were added during hours when commuters haven’t yet left their office. Meanwhile, less trains made trip during rush hours.

Yesterday, on my way home, I had to to board on the overcrowded commuter line (CL) at 5.30 p.m from Gondangdia station. Packed like sardines into sweaty, claustrophobic carriages; I could barely breathe let alone move about freely. I didn’t have an inch in which to move and was pressed up against the steamy glass windows. The air conditioning was dead, and the windows were all closed. What a squeeze! What a sweaty miserable condition!

In my experience, commuter line services are no better than that of [economy-class] electric trains, with low compliance of minimum service standards. The condition deteriorates as the schedule is unreliable due to the old song of long excuses of power troubles. Scuffles between frustrated commuters have become more and more common, while wicked molesters take advantage of the overcrowding to fondle and harass the others. In the end, passengers also seem to be giving up on fighting for better services as their pleas are often rebuked and turned into deaf-ears.

Despite the horror stories, I have no choice but to use the train. Like many others, I find using commuter trains save time and money than ever before. It is likely out of necessity because despite all of its problems, it still beats the odds of sitting in the increasingly nightmarish traffic. A trip to Depok by car can take up to two hours, but a commuter train will have you there in 45 minutes.

I just hope that the responsible public officials in this country will someday understand that public transportation is there to make our lives easier. Passengers are fed up with trains that are delayed, overcrowded and unsafe. So, improving these standards should be their top priority. Even it might help to battle the worsening traffic in Jakarta.